1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to multi-use exercise devices. In particular, it relates to a portable exercise device which allows the user to exercise abdominal, back, arm and chest muscles while performing other activities.
2. Background Art
The time limitations created by everyday life make it difficult for many individuals to exercise. In addition, many individuals not only do not have an opportunity to exercise, but are required to spend many hours in sedentary positions due to their employment, time spent traveling, time spent recovering from injury, etc. It would be advantageous to provide individuals with the benefits of exercise; including abdominal and back physical rehabilitation, posture improvement, and muscle development while performing sedentary activities that are required in daily life.
Attempts have been made to provide a dual use of time wherein an individual can exercise at the same time that sedentary activities were taking place. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,482 to Hern, an exercise device was provided that attaches to a seat and to a user. The user exercises while sitting by pushing forward against two side mounted tensioning cords. While this invention allows the abdominal muscles to be exercised, it has several drawbacks which limit its use. First, the device uses two tension cords. Since each tension cord will vary in strength, the result will be that one side or the other will provide greater tension and the user will tend to exercise one side of the abdominal muscles to a greater extent, resulting in uneven muscle growth, which in turn may contribute to poor posture and lower back pain.
Second, and more importantly, many individuals spend a great deal of time commuting. As a result, a good opportunity to make dual use of time for both sedentary activities and exercising is in a vehicle. However, the use of side mounted cords will interfere with the use of the user's arms while driving, thus creating a safety hazard. Further, since the cords stretch under the arms of the user, if they snap due to cord failure, they may contribute to an accident. Also, since the cords retract as the driver reclines against the seat back, the cords may become loose in the reclining position and interfere with the free movement of the drivers arms.
It would be desirable to have an exercise device that can be used in a variety of situations, such as driving, where the individual's arms would not be interfered with, so that a potential safety hazard could be avoided. Further, it would be desirable to have an exercise device that would evenly distribute tension during exercise to both sides of an individuals abdomen and/or back without favoring one side over the other, thereby fostering even muscle development.
Prior art devices, such as the foregoing device, have numerous components, each of which is susceptible to failure. It would also be desirable to have a device with a minimal number of components and a simple construction.
While addressing the basic desirability of exercising, the prior art has failed to provide an exercise device that uses a minimal number of components; that uses a single centrally located tension source to equally balance tension forces such that both sides of the abdomen and back are exercised equally; that does not expose the user to injury if the tension source fails; and that does not interfere with the use of the individual's arms during use.